Introduction:
HIV and Hepatitis C virus (HCV) represent significant causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Because of shared routes of transmission co-infection is common. Recent advances in treatment for both HIV and HCV look set to significantly alter the natural history of both diseases and offer long-term hope for patients. The advent of direct-acting antiviral (DAA) therapy for HCV has markedly improved therapeutic outcomes for patients engaged in care. Despite, excellent tolerability and high rates of sustained virological response (SVR) with these new agents, they are costly, associated with drug-drug interactions, do not prevent against re-infection and are not 100% effective. Additionally, HCV viral resistance may represent a challenge in the future. This DAA therapy will have a limited impact on the burden of HCV-related disease on a population level unless barriers to HCV education, screening, evaluation and treatment are addressed and treatment uptake improves. A...

Conforming to the idea that reflective practice (RP) should be based on the premises of social learning, the present study relies heavily on the power of collaboration to provide support for more introspective forms of reflection. In this way, using a data-led approach and combining written and spoken forms of reflection, the study explores the discourses of a community of six experienced English language teacher educators at a public university in the state of Bahia, Brazil. A focus on more experienced professionals complements studies of teacher development, generally focussing on student or novice teachers or comparing stages of development. In the present study, the educators engage in a non-longitudinal bottom-up process of RP, consisting of three stages of written self-evaluation of teaching practice, supported by a) self-observation through video-recording; b) peer observation feedback; and c) a group discussion. The educators’ written reflections are analysed in conjunction ...

It is widely believed that relativistic jets in X-ray binaries (XRBs) and active-galactic nuclei are powered by the rotational energy of black holes. This idea is supported by general-relativistic magnetohydrodynamic (GRMHD) simulations of accreting black holes, which demonstrate efficient energy extraction via the Blandford–Znajek mechanism. However, due to uncertainties in the physics of mass loading, and the failure of GRMHD numerical schemes in the highly magnetized funnel region, the matter content of the jet remains poorly constrained. We investigate the observational signatures of mass loading in the funnel by performing general-relativistic radiative transfer calculations on a range of 3D GRMHD simulations of accreting black holes. We find significant observational differences between cases in which the funnel is empty and cases where the funnel is filled with plasma, particularly in the optical and X-ray bands. In the context of Sgr A*, current spectral data constrains the ...

Historical research can foster critical understandings of occupational therapy. It can facilitate greater appreciation of the context within which contemporary practice and assumptions developed, and can contribute to present day debates on the role of occupation within occupational therapy.
This thesis aims to construct a chronology of the therapeutic use of occupation from the Moral Treatment era through to the mid-20th century establishment of the profession of occupational therapy in Ireland. It aims to use the emergence of Irish occupational therapy education as a means of understanding the professionalisation of the discipline. Finally, it takes an interpretative analytical perspective to situate the history of the profession in Ireland in broader social, political, and healthcare contexts.
The thesis comprises four papers, each of which contributes to achieving the aforementioned aims. Paper I, a methodology paper, critically reviews literature on the use of historical docume...

Cooperative learning is one of the instructional methodologies which have gained international attention in the globalization era. The approach has been found to be highly successful with over 900 research studies pointing to the effectiveness of cooperative learning over competitive and individualistic efforts (Johnson, Johnson & Stanne 2000). However, of the numerous studies that have attested to the benefits of cooperative learning, almost all have taken place in the western context. In Asia, admiration for this approach is a relatively recent phenomenon (Nguyen et al. 2009). Moreover, studies on cooperative learning in relation to communicative competence are hardly found in Indonesia‟s higher education context.
The present study aimed to find out the effect (if any) of cooperative learning (CL) on student teachers‟ communicative competence in Indonesia and on how they perceive CL will impact on their future teaching practices. The present study also aimed at exploring the s...

The purpose of this paper is to advance the knowledge on side-selling. The case study of the paprika supply chain in Central Malawi showed that 36.9% of small-scale farmers engaged in side-selling. It was projected that the focal company lost between 19.9% to 44.6% of paprika due to side-selling. The main reason for side-selling was the higher price offered by local vendors. Binary logit regression indicated that the geographical location, education and income levels, distance to the collection point, a negative impact of contracting on livelihoods, membership in farmers' association and assistance from the Government significantly influenced small-scale farmers’ side-selling.

Work has been done to measure Mental Workload based on applications mainly related to ergonomics, human factors, and Machine Learning. The influence of Machine Learning is a reflection of an increased use of new technologies applied to areas conventionally dominated by theoretical approaches. However, collaboration between MWL and Natural Language Processing techniques seems to happen rarely. In this sense, the objective of this research is to make use of Natural Languages Processing techniques to contribute to the analysis of the relationship between Mental Workload subjective measures and Relative Frequency Ratios of keywords gathered during pre-tasks and post-tasks of MWL activities in third-level sessions under different topics and instructional designs. This research employs secondary, empirical and inductive methods to investigate Cognitive Load theory, instructional designs, Mental Workload foundations and measures and Natural Language Process Techniques. Then, NASA-TLX, Work...

This article interrogates the norms of good citizenship invoked in and across different social domains, using the example of citizenship education in the UK as one field in which good citizenship is constituted. It is possible to make visible the political struggle inherent in the mechanisms of framing the good citizen by unpacking the differences between citizenship as acts, status and virtues. This is a necessary step in assessing good citizenship claims in the absence of moral and political absolutes. We deploy a two-tiered account of Butler's theory of performativity to examine how ordinary citizenship acts are preceded by elite rhetorical framing. We conclude that citizenship, like democracy, is always enacted in particular contexts in which positioning, method and motives play an important part.

In this thesis welfare is examined in a spatial context. A broader definition of welfare is taken so that it includes more than just income. In-kind benefits, indirect costs, life-satisfaction, locational effects are all examined in a spatial context. The impact of these welfare drivers on the spatial distribution is examined with each chapter focusing on a different welfare driver. Differences between areas may be psychical (e.g. climate) or structural (e.g. high education attainment) using a spatial approach can account for some of this variation. An interaction exists between space and the economy which results in agglomeration economies and clustering based on social class. However, there are market failures (e.g. congestion) which can reduce welfare. A broader measure of welfare which includes additional components and not just monetary income acknowledges the spatial heterogeneity that exists across space. A small area examination allows for pockets of deprivation and poverty ...

Voltaire Cousteau’s primer on how to swim with sharks first appeared 45 years ago and stands alone, timeless.[1,2] At once quirky, yet clear, concise, clever; it continues to raise a smile. Swimming with sharks is not, of course, a required pastime or needed for most successful careers. It is, however, a valuable survival skill, particularly for those with ambition to explore the privileges that a life in medicine can offer. Medicine is a sea of opportunities, which encompass and transcend healthcare, science, education, leadership and entrepreneurship. In such waters, encounters with sharks are common. William Osler likened the study of medicine without books to sailing in uncharted sea, while studying without patients as not to go to sea at all.[3] Similarly, Cousteau warned that books cannot substitute for practice when learning how to swim with sharks. Having abided by his guidance, I offer a survivor’s comments in grateful tribute to Cousteau.

Metal oxide nanotubes with wide interlayer van der Waals spaces are important materials for a range of applications from energy storage to catalysis, and from energy efficient catalysts and metal–insulator systems to smart window technologies. Controlling the crystalline quality is critical for the material's physical properties on the nanoscale. We report a systematic investigation into the optimization of structural quality and yield of vanadium oxide nanotubes (VONTs) synthesized by hydrothermal treatment. Usually, interdigitation of alkyl-amine chains occurs between V2O5 lamina, a stitching process that allows scrolling of 2D crystalline sheets into nanotubes with consistently high quality. Through detailed microscopy and spectroscopy examination, we demonstrate that two amine molecules per V2O5 unit optimizes the structure, quality and yield of the VONTs, and that uniform coverage of the juxtaposed V2O5 surfaces in the interlayer spacing minimizes non-uniformities and defe...

We report on the electrochemical performance of V2O3 polycrystalline nanorods (poly-NRs) as a cathode material for Li-ion batteries. Poly-NRs are formed through the thermal treatment of V2O5 nanotubes in a N2 atmosphere. X-ray and electron diffraction techniques are used to confirm the thermal reduction. Through galvanostatic cycling, we demonstrate that poly-NRs offer excellent capacity retention over 750 cycles. The capacity retention from the 50th to the 750th cycle was an impressive 94 %, retaining a capacity of approximately 120 mAh g−1 after 750 cycles. The outstanding stability of the nanocrystal-containing V2O3 poly-NRs over many cycles demonstrates that vanadium(III) oxide (V2O3) performs very well as a cathode material. Full Li-ion cells with paired a V2O3 poly-NR cathode and a pre-charged Co3O4 inverse opal (IO) conversion mode anode demonstrated high initial capacities and retained a capacity of 153 mAh g−1 after 50 cycles. The capacities achieved with our V2O3 poly-NRs/...

Background: Primary care based health professionals struggle with many aspects of dementia care. General practitioners (GPs) find providing post-diagnosis information on services and supports particularly challenging. Likewise, people with dementia and their family caregivers feel they need more support from their GPs in this post-diagnosis period. Objective: This study aimed to develop and evaluate an online educational resource for primary care health professionals that included a dementia specific services and supports directory. Method: A previously conducted educational needs analysis informed the content of the resource. This content was further developed by a review of the literature and through consultation with an expert reference group and a stakeholder group. A mixed method approach was taken to the evaluation of the online resource which included analysis of the website traffic, qualitative feedback from stakeholders and evaluation by general practitioners. Results: The ...

The National Disability Authority (NDA) commissioned Behaviour & Attitudes (B&A) to conduct a nationally representative survey on public attitudes to disability in Ireland in 2017. The NDA previously conducted national surveys on attitudes to disability in 2001, 2006 and 2011.
The survey used quota sampling and was conducted using computer assisted personal interviews (CAPI) during January and February 2017. Data were weighted on gender, age, region, socio-economic status and disability status. Data from 2017 were compared to 2011 and 2006 data and these datasets were also weighted to their respective census year. Multivariate analysis was carried out to determine what factors influenced the key findings.
The survey covered a range of topics on attitudes relating to disability. These included awareness of disability and attitudes towards particular types of disability. Survey questions explored attitudes towards children with disabilities in mainstream education, the emplo...

This thesis outlines the trajectory of a pedagogic intervention that was designed to support the language development of native-speaking children of Irish through their sustained engagement with rich language resources from the RTÃ RaidiÃ³ na Gaeltachta archive and with resources brought in from home. Design-based research, which is an interventionist, iterative approach for designing practical solutions to complex educational problems was a suitable approach to take in the context of the precarious nature of Irish as a community language in the Gaeltacht. The theories guiding the design of the intervention included socio-cultural theory, new literacies studies, multimodality and a number of theories that link school-based and out-of-school literacy practices. These include funds of knowledge, knowledge producing schools, artefactual literacies and identity texts.
The research was conducted across three phases in two schools in Category A areas of the Conamara Gaeltacht. Phase 1 (...

Conduct problems in school settings can pose significant challenges for both children and teachers. This study examined the teacher-reported prevalence of conduct problems in a sample of young children (N = 445) in the first two years of formal education. A secondary aim was to assess teachers’ perceptions of child behaviour and their classroom management strategies. The study was undertaken in 11 schools located in south west Ireland. Overall, children displayed positive socio-emotional and behavioural adjustment, although more than one-quarter had difficulties outside the ‘normal’ range. Class size and gender were shown to play a role in the level of difficulties experienced. Teachers reported significant challenges in managing classroom behavioural problems. This study provides some useful insights into the socio-emotional and behavioural needs of school-entry age children. The findings also have important policy and practice implications for school psychologists and other key sc...

It is estimated that there are 1.5 billion people worldwide who speak English, of whom only 375 million are native speakers (Statista 2016). Jenks (2012) notes that the use of English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) is growing in popularity as it is used as a contact language in social, business and political contexts. It is therefore not surprising that in addition to the 1.5 billion who currently speak English worldwide that another billion are estimated to be in the process of learning it (Oxford Royale Academy 2014). As there appears to be a great demand to acquire English as a foreign language, recent studies have suggested synchronous online education as an alternative means of language learning (Huang 2013, Yen et al. 2013). The use of Discourse markers (DMs) is another area which has recently been studied as DMs have been noted as being pervasive in speaking and adding greatly to the discourse repertoire of a learner in terms of oral fluency (O’Keeffe et al. 2011). The research on...

Personal and collective memories of violence and warfare are part of broader discursive processes that are subject to constant reinterpretations and remediations from the perspective of the present. Engaging with the ‘postmemorial turn’, this thesis examines representations of the ‘Third Reich’ in contemporary German youth literature. Youth literature has been unduly neglected in German memory debates even though its contemporary readership exemplifies the postmemorial turn. Investigating the specific dynamics of postmemory in a broad corpus of texts and in dialogue with the broader socio-cultural context of Germany today, the thesis analyses how individual authors renegotiate the place of the ‘Third Reich’ in German cultural memory from a transnational perspective. The analysis of specifically postmemorial techniques of representation is filtered through four thematic lines of enquiry: firstly, persecution and deportation; secondly, German everyday life and National Socialist educa...

The term ‘Content and Language Integrated Learning’ (CLIL) was coined in the mid-1990’s to describe and enhance practices in content-based language learning (Coyle, Hood, & Marsh, 2010). The rapid integration of Europe since 1990 has increased the need for efficient and appropriate language education methods (Coyle, Hood, & Marsh, 2010). CLIL teachers are usually experts in either subject areas or language learning; rarely both. This dissertation presents data from a qualitative study examining secondary school subject teachers in Italy who currently practise CLIL in their subject lessons. Italy represents a unique context for the study of CLIL as recent legislation has made CLIL compulsory in the final year of upper secondary schools. This study, therefore, aims to use the opportunities this context provides to explore the beliefs of subject teachers practising CLIL. The study also aims to look at the language teaching objectives and methods these teachers incorporate...

In this inquiry, the author inquires into her shifting ‘self’ as a researcher/teacher educator in teacher professional development. The ‘self’ in question is acknowledged as being historically, culturally and locally specific. It is also acknowledged as unfixed or unstable; constructed from and in response to various, and often competing, discourses. As an autoethnographic inquiry, this article presents vignettes of the self/researcher/teacher educator embedded in the messiness and complexity of lived experiences and it represents her attempts to make sense (albeit partial and provisional) of these experiences. Central to the inquiry is an examination of the roles played by serendipity and by writing itself in the processes of sense- and self-making.

Parents worldwide play a significant role in the development of their children’s reading (Trelease, 2006). Yet, the fostering of home reading practices seems to be a challenge in both the United Arab Emirates and wider Arab world (Mograby, 1999; Al Tanejji, 2001; TahaThomure, 2003; Hyland, 2003). Learning to read takes practice, more practice than children get during the school day. Schools that genuinely want to create readers can’t do it without parental involvement. As teachers in the UAE, we need to think of how we can ensure Arabic parents feel able enough to help at home, especially when much of their children’s reading is
in a foreign language. Providing them with ideas that are manageable and stimulating is a good starting point. This article makes ten simple suggestions on how to encourage Emirati parents to get involved in their child’s literacy at home.